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vessel
registration under the maltese flag and the
operation of maltese ships is regulated by the
merchant shipping act of 1973, a law based mainly
on UK legislation but subsequently revised and
amended in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 2000. The main
legislation is supplemented by a comprehensive
set of rules and regulations.
what are the advantages
in registering a ship under the maltese flag?
- no restrictions on the nationality
of the master, officers and crew;
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- attractive fiscal incentives to
owners, charterers and financiers
of Maltese ships of over 1,000 net
tons. this exemption may also be extended
to smaller ships;
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- low company formation and ship registration
costs;
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- No restrictions on the sale or
transfer of shares of a company owning
a Maltese ship;
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- no restrictions on the sale and
mortgaging of maltese ships;
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- no trading restrictions and preferential
treatment to maltese ships in certain
ports;
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- twenty four hour, seven days a week
service by the authorities in respect
of urgent matters;
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- malta is an international maritime
centre providing the whole range or
maritime services.
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Eligibility
for Registration
All types of vessels,
from pleasure yachts to oil rigs, may be registered,
provided that, inter alia, they are wholly owned
by Maltese citizens or Maltese bodies corporate
or by foreign legally constituted corporate
bodies or entities that have appointed a resident
agent in malta.
The formation
of a Maltese company is a straightforward operation;
there are no nationality requirements as to
both the shareholders and directors.
As a rule, trading
ships of 25 years and over are not registered.
Ships of 20 years
and over but under 25 years must pass an inspection
by an authorised flag state inspector prior
to being provisionally registered.
Ships of 15 years
and over but under 20 years must pass an inspection
by an authorised flag state inspector before
or within one month of provisional registration.
Procedure
A vessel is first
registered provisionally under the Malta flag
for six months (extendible for a further period,
or periods not exceeding in the aggregate six
months) during which period all documentation
must be finalised.
The requirements
for provisional registration are:
- an application for registration
by the owner or an authorised representative
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- an application for a change of name,
if required
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- a copy of the ship’s International
Tonnage Certificate, where applicable
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- proof of qualification to own a
Maltese ship; in the case of a body
corporate, the memorandum and articles
of association
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- a declaration of ownership made
before the Registrar by the owner
or an authorised representative
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- evidence of seaworthiness; in the
case of trading vessels, confirmation
of class
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- payment of initial and annual registration
fees
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the following
documents must be submitted during provisional
registration
- a builder’s certificate if the vessel
has not been registered elsewhere; otherwise,
a bill of sale or any other document by which
the vessel was transferred to the applicant
for registry
- a cancellation of registry certificate
from the last country of registry,
showing vessels to be free from
encumbrances or otherwise
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- a certificate of survey and a
copy of the tonnage certificate
certifying that the vessel has been
surveyed in accordance with Maltese
regulations
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- evidence that the vessel has been
marked in accordance with the law
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- at least one crew list accompanied
by photocopies of the officers’
certificates
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where valid appropriate convention
certificates are not in place the ship will
be issued a non-operational certificate of registry.
a certificate of registry is subject to renewal
on the anniversary of the registration of the
ship.
bareboat charter registration
Maltese law provides both for bareboat charter
registration of foreign ships under the Malta
flag and also for the bareboat charter registration
of Maltese ships under a foreign flag.
Vessels so registered
enjoy the same rights and privileges, and have
the same obligations, as any other ship registered
in Malta.
The two main principles
adopted at law on bare boat charter registration
are, the compatibility of the two registries,
and, that matters regarding title over the ship,
mortgages and encumbrances are governed by the
underlying registry, while the operation of
the vessel falls under jurisdiction of the bareboat
charter registry.
A bareboat charter
registration shall be for the duration of the
bareboat charter or under the expiry date of
the underlying registration, whichever is the
shorter, but in no case for a period exceeding
two years. Registration may be extended.
The requirements
for bareboat charter registration in Malta are:
1. the ship
must be bareboat chartered to Maltese citizens
or Maltese bodies corporate
2. the ship is not a Maltese ship, and is
registered in a compatible registry
3. the ship is not registered in another bareboat
registry
4. the following documents must be produced:
4.1 an application
for registration by the charterer or an
authorised representative
4.2 a declaration of bareboat charter accompanied
by the charter agreement
4.3 a transcript of an extract of the underlying
registration
4.4 a copy of the ship’s International
Tonnage Certificate
4.5 the consent in writing of the underlying
registry, owners and mortgagees
4.6 an application for a ship station license
4.7 evidence of seaworthiness; in the case
of trading vessels, confirmation of class
4.8 payment of initial and annual registration
fees
Manning and certification of seafarers
Maltese ships
are subject to the provisions of the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1973 as amended, ancillary regulations
and stcw 78 convention (as amended) regarding
the manning and certification of seafarers.
there are no restrictions on the nationality
of the master, officers and crew engaged on
Maltese ships. foreign certificates issued in
terms of 1978 stcw convention as amended, require
an endorsement issued by the maltese administration
attesting their recognition.
International Conventions
Malta has practically
adopted all the major international maritime
conventions including: CLC 92, Tonnage 69, COLREG
72, Fund 92, INMARSAT, Load Lines 66 (including
1988 protocol), London Dumping 72, MARPOL 73/78,
SOLAS 74/78 (including 1988 protocol), STCW
78 (including 95 amendments), sua 88 (including
sua protocol 1988), sar 79, fal 65, oprc 90
and oprc-hns protocol 00 and ilo conventions
nos. 8, 16, 22, 53, 73, 74, 87, 98, 108, 138,
147 (including 1996 protocol) and 180.
Authorised Classification
Societies
Survey, tonnage and convention
certificates may be issued on behalf of the
Maltese Government by the following classification
societies: American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau
Veritas, china classification society, classnk,
Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, korean
register of shipping, lloyd’s Register
of shipping, Registro Italiano Navale and russian
maritime register of shipping.
Mortgages
Registration, transfer and discharge
of mortgages may be effected immediately on
presentation of the relative documents to the
Registrar. The 1986, 1988, 1990 and 2000 amendments
introduced important safeguards to the mortgagees
of Maltese ships making financing more attractive
Registration Fees
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schedule
a |
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fees on
registration and the annual fee for all
ships shall be as follows: |
| ship |
fee on registration |
annual |
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basic fee
lm |
tonnage
tax |
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fishing
vessels of less than 24 metres length
overall |
| commercial |
10 cents
per net tonnage |
10 |
5 cents
per net tonnage |
recreational
|
lm 50 |
10 |
lm 50 |
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all other
ships of less than 24 metres length overall |
| less than 50 gross tonnage |
lm 50 |
10 |
lm 75 |
| of 50 gross tonnage or more |
20 |
| pleasure yachts of 24 metres
length overall or more |
10 cents per net tonnage
subject to minimum of lm 75 |
50 |
15 cents per net tonnage
subject to minimum of lm 150 |
| all other ships of 24 metres
length overall or more |
rates as appear in
schedule b subject to reduction as appears
in schedule c |
100 for year of registration
and 300 thereafter |
rates as appear in
schedule b subject to increase or reduction
as appears in schedule c |
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schedule
b |
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the rates
per net tonnage payable on registration
and annually in respect of all ships,
except pleasure yachts, of 24 metres in
length overall and more, are as follows:- |
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ship of
net tonnage (nt) |
fee
on registration |
annual
tonnage tax |
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exceeding |
not exceeding |
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0 |
2,500 |
lm 250 |
lm 375 |
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2,500 |
8,000 |
lm 250
plus 10 cents for every NT in excess of
2,500 nt |
lm 375
plus 15 cents for every NT in excess of
2,500 nt |
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8,000 |
10,000 |
lm 800
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
8,000 nt |
lm 1,200
plus 8 cents for every NT in excess of
8,000 nt |
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10,000 |
15,000 |
lm 860
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
10,000 nt |
lm 1,360
plus 6 cents for every NT in excess of
10,000 nt |
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15,000 |
20,000 |
lm 1,010
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
15,000 nt |
lm 1,660
plus 5 cents for every NT in excess of
15,000 nt |
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20,000 |
30,000 |
lm 1,160
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
20,000 nt |
lm 1,910
plus 4 cents for every NT in excess of
20,000 nt |
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30,000 |
50,000 |
lm 1,460
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
30,000 nt |
lm 2,310
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
30,000 nt |
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exceeding
50,000 |
lm 2,060
plus 3 cents for every NT in excess of
50,000 nt |
lm 2,910
plus 2 cents for every NT in excess of
50,000 nt |
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schedule
c |
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the fees
due on registration and the annual tonnage
tax in respect of all ships, except pleasure
yachts, of 24 metres length overall and
more shall be subject to a reduction or
increase as follows: |
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age of
ship |
reduction
on Fee on registration
% |
reduction
or increase on annual tonnage tax
% |
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equal
or exceeding |
less than |
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years |
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0 |
5 |
50 |
- 30 |
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5 |
10 |
25 |
- 15 |
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10 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
|
15 |
20 |
0 |
+ 5 |
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20 |
25 |
0 |
+ 10 |
subject to minimum increase of lm 500 |
|
25 |
30 |
0 |
+ 25 |
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equal
or exceeding 30 |
0 |
+ 50 |
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schedule
d |
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registration fees
for any one year paid after the anniversary
of registration for that year shall be
increased by ten per cent. |
other notes:
pre-registration inspections are subject to
a minimum charge of lm 1,000. inspections within
one month of registration (ships of 15 years
and over but under 20 years), are subject to
a lm 500 minimum charge when the total net tonnage
is less than 5,000. there is no charge when
the net tonnage is 5,000 and over.
Closure of Registry
The registry of a Maltese ship
may be closed at the request of the owners provided
all liabilities and obligations in respect of
the ship towards the State of Malta have been
paid and the consent of all registered mortgagees
is produced.
cancellation of registry by the administration
for non-compliance with the provisions of the
law is only effected after the adequate time
has been given to the owners to regularise matters
and for the financiers to take the necessary
action to protect their interests.
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